Public invited to screening of The Mask You Live In

Poll

The Sexual Assault Response Committee and Kind Communities Alliance is inviting the public to a documentary film screening Oct. 15 of “The Mask You Live In.”

The film follows boys and young men as they negotiate society’s narrow definition of masculinity and looks at how to raise a healthier generation of boys and young men.

“Boys and men need positive role models and realistic expectations of masculinity. The media and gender stereotypes of our culture do not offer this,” Corinna Roth-Beacome, chair of Kind Communities Alliance, says in a press release.

“While there is an ever-growing awareness of society’s impact on women/girls, there is an equal need for us to look at society’s impact on men/boys,” said Christina Johnson, SARC’s executive director, in the press release. “Our current view of masculinity does not allow for a broad spectrum of emotion and relates the use of violence with respect. A lack of this discussion is one of the root causes of men’s experiences of mental health concerns, suicide and increased violence. We are bringing this film to our region to start this conversation.”

The film was written, produced and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015. Newsom’s first film Miss Representation looked at how the media contributes to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence.

The local screening of “The Mask You Live In” will take place on Oct. 15, at 6:30 p.m., at the Medicine Hat College Eresman Theatre. Entry is by donation. A panel discussion on healthy masculinity and positive fatherhood to follow film viewing.